


How To Get Rid of the Silence

by dreamshades



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Coupzi, Jicheol, M/M, Wonwoo - Freeform, mingyu - Freeform, seokmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 14:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6809014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamshades/pseuds/dreamshades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jihoon hates the silence. But unfortunately, the silence loves him until Jihoon decides to go out and meets a stranger in a restaurant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How To Get Rid of the Silence

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a fic on AFF entitled 'The Silence' by roundplum. I hope you like it :)

It had been a very long time since Jihoon last wrote something. Although he sat in front of his laptop and faced the blank document every day, nothing had ever come up or struck his mind. He even looked for prompts and quotes on the internet to inspire him to write something. But no. Nothing had triggered his mind to think of a plot of a story.  
  
     Jihoon looked back at his old works which were saved in a folder for a long time but never got published. Most of them were incomplete and Jihoon gradually grew bored with it to ever continue the rest of the stories. He had lost the main plots anyway and Jihoon did not have any intention to dig back those old plots which were buried inside his messed up brain. Instead, he let them died and decayed and Jihoon just stared blankly as he became more lethargic and figuratively rotted.  
  
     From the past hour, only sighs came out from his lips. Not knowing what to do, Jihoon aimlessly scrolled down the Tumblr posts, again hoping for something which could magically inspire him to write. However, the outcome was predictable and Jihoon hated it. He kept on sighing and grunting and whining and no one else took notice of how messy his desk was because Jihoon lived alone. In an apartment which belonged to him only.  
  
     However, it all changed when the silence came. During these past few days, the silence had become his best friend. It kept Jihoon company despite all it did is nothing. Yet, Jihoon had never minded it. He treated the silence as usual. As if it was an actual person. As if it was his actual housemate. Jihoon ate with it. Jihoon slept with it. Jihoon watched the television with it. Jihoon did everything with it.  
  
     Although Jihoon did not fancy it. Because there were times when Jihoon hated the silence for not helping him fought with the writer's block he had. There were times when Jihoon hated the silence for not helping him with his rental and bills. And there were times when Jihoon hated the silence for not making his life any better than before. But after all, the silence was the only companion Jihoon had spent his time with for a very long time. Even longer than Soonyoung, his noisy best friend.  
  
     Another audible sigh escaped from Jihoon's lips for the nth time and after the long struggle, he gave up. Jihoon shut down his laptop and a second later, he plonked down firmly on the couch, only to find himself staring at the black screen of the television. Once again, silence came to keep him company and this time, it brought the sound of the spinning fan along to make everything seemed little less lonely than yesterday. The silence sat beside Jihoon and did nothing as usual that Jihoon found himself hating it for the umpteenth time today.  
  
     It was only then Jihoon thought of something. What if he found someone else in place of the silence? What if he kicked the silence out of this apartment of his and welcomed someone else instead? It sounded like a good idea for Jihoon since he would never have to deal with the silence again. Since he would never have to hate the silence again. Since he would never have to frown his face again.  
  
     However, Jihoon had no idea who should he call over and asked to stay together with him. Because Soonyoung had moved to Japan last month due to his parents becoming a lecturer there and that was the day when everything started to become boring to Jihoon. That was the day when the cafe where he worked became less enthusiastic and happening. And that was the day when Jihoon massaged his temples every now and then as he contemplated on how lonely his life had become. To put it simply, everything crumbled when Soonyoung flew to Japan and left Jihoon alone with the silence.  
  
     Jihoon heaved a breath afterward when he had to reject the idea of having a housemate to replace the silence's spot. A second later, Jihoon furrowed his brows, trying to come up with another solution for his problem and before long, something struck his mind. His neighbor. It had been ages ago since Jihoon last saw his neighbor, the one who lived next door. Well, to be quite frank, he had never seen their face before or even acknowledged their existence. Jihoon knew he was not a good neighbor at all, but so did his neighbor.  
  
     They had never knocked on Jihoon's door to maybe, say “Hi. How are you? Here I baked some cookies for you.” They had never turned their radio volume up and blasted Jihoon's eardrums with their never ending Christmas songs. And they had never made any fuss to seethe Jihoon's anger to its max either. And it made Jihoon wondered if the silence had been with them as well that they had no interest to get to know Jihoon better. To which saddened Jihoon. And soon, his stomach began to growl, asking him for foods.  
  
     Being a lazybones as ever, Jihoon decided to just grab his phone and order chickens from a restaurant instead. By the way, his ramen was out of stock already and Jihoon grimaced at the idea of him having to buy another new one in order to survive for the future months. Or maybe, just maybe, Jihoon should grab this opportunity to leave the silence alone, go to a nearby restaurant, and buy a packet of ramen on his way back to his apartment.  
  
     Jihoon lifted his eyebrows in some amusement. He personally thought that idea was kind of good considering he could get out of his apartment and breathed some fresh air outside despite he doubted it if the air was still as fresh as before. Soon, his lips curved, forming a small smile which had long gone from his fair complexion. And a second later, Jihoon looked at the silence briefly, clutched his phone and wallet, and walked out of his apartment.  
  
     As Jihoon locked the door, he averted his eyes on the door of the apartment next to his and wondered about his neighbor. Whatever they were doing right now, may peace prevailed upon them. Jihoon then walked along the quiet corridor and went downstairs to the outside world where he could see no silence lurking between which somehow made him felt pretty comfortable with it.  
  
     Walking down the hectic and noisy street, Jihoon looked around for a restaurant and eventually found one. It was not crowded with people, however, and Jihoon did not mind that at all. He settled down on a seat by the glass wall where he could see the road and the shops at the opposite side and soon, a waiter whose name was Lee Seokmin (as his name tag read) approached him with his A5 notebook and a ball pen.  
  
     “What would you like to have, sir?” Lee Seokmin asked with manners and plastered his bright smile.  
  
     Jihoon hummed in response as he fell into his own deep thought.  
  
     “Maybe I can recommend you something?” Lee Seokmin suggested, lifting his eyebrows at Jihoon.  
  
     That sounded like a very good idea to Jihoon he quickly said, “Yes, please.”  
  
     And with that, Lee Seokmin recommended the male their most popular food ever. He even explained to him why did he choose that particular meal and elaborated every point he said at Jihoon to make it sounded more convincing. His exaggerated facial expression added the heated explanation and Jihoon was entirely speechless during the whole session.  
  
     He did not get mad at the waiter. Instead, he smiled for this Lee Seokmin guy only reminded him of Soonyoung, his noisy best friend. The first time they met was when Jihoon was choosing a headphone and he just happened to bump into Soonyoung who was picking one. It was unintentional, though, when he nonchalantly asked Soonyoung which brand would be the best one. And it was totally unintentional when Soonyoung got excited over the question and began to tell Jihoon everything that he knew about the headphone he had just picked. The enthusiast even listed out the pros and cons and instead of getting annoyed, Jihoon found him interesting.  
  
     Thus, they became friends. As simple as that.  
  
     Occasionally, Jihoon contemplated on how a relationship could begin with just a smile. He contemplated on how a relationship could become strong with just a hug. And he contemplated on how a relationship could break with just a lie. And more magnificently, it all could happen in just one day. Weird and amazing as Jihoon found it.  
  
     “Well then, I'll take that,” Jihoon blurted out as soon as Lee Seokmin was done with his long explanation.  
  
     “Okay!” he replied enthusiastically and jotted the menu down in his spiral notebook. “How about your drink? Would you like juice or coffee?”  
  
     Since Jihoon had been taking in too much caffeine during the past few days, Jihoon chose to have juice. “Orange juice, please.”  
  
     Lee Seokmin jotted it down under the menu and said, “Please wait a while. I'll get you your order soon.” And with that, he bowed down at Jihoon, gave him his bright smile, and left the spot to stride toward the counter when a man entered and stopped him.  
  
     Jihoon could not care less about his business with the man, so he looked away and threw his gaze out at the outside scenery which was less lonely than his apartment. The vehicles sped off on the road, people walking down the streets with noises, and nothing seemed to disturb Jihoon one bit. Maybe, just maybe, he was too acquainted with the silence's presence in his house that all of these noises appeared to be exciting to Jihoon's ears.  
  
     How he missed Soonyoung right now.  
  
     Jihoon was gazing outside the glass wall with his chin propped in the palm of his left hand when the man who talked with Lee Seokmin a while ago plonked firmly down on the seat across Jihoon. Slightly taken aback, Jihoon dilated his eyes at the unknown man who sighed audibly before him. A second later, they exchanged a look with each other and Jihoon somehow felt a tad awkward with the stranger.  
  
     “Hi. Can I sit here?” the man asked.  
  
     But Jihoon did not think he had to ask for his consent when the man had already seated across him. “I suppose so,” Jihoon replied, raising his brows at the man.  
  
     “Thank you. By the way, I'm Seungcheol. Choi Seungcheol.” The man reached out his hand at Jihoon who looked on in silence and awkwardness at the sudden introduction.  
  
     Not wanting to appear as a rude person, Jihoon held out his hand and shook Seungcheol's with an awkward smile plastered upon his face. “Well...I'm Lee Jihoon. Um, nice to meet you, Seungcheol.”  
  
     “Nice to meet you too, Jihoon,” Seungcheol replied.  
  
     After all, he looked like a nice guy and that was what Jihoon concluded when the latter beamed at him after that. For some reasons unknown to Jihoon, he thought today was a quite lovely day for him that he did not regret his decision to leave the silence and his apartment for a walk to a nearby restaurant.  
  
     “Did you live alone?” Seungcheol asked. Perhaps, he was trying to start a conversation and made a friend out of Jihoon.  
  
     “Yes. I live alone. Or else I would have been here with my friends, right?”  
  
     Seungcheol curved his lips into a permanent 'O' at Jihoon's answer and was somewhat excited. “Sounds legit. By the way, I live alone too.”  
  
     “Is that so?” Jihoon eventually showed the guy some interest. Anyway, it was good feeling realizing that there were people who experienced something you did...  
  
     “Yeah. And I really hate it because of the boredom and the quietness.”  
  
     Especially the silence. Jihoon's eyes went bright upon hearing Seungcheol. “I know, right? It was stressful at times and the neighbor who lives next door isn't helping either.”  
  
     “Really? You too?” Seungcheol's voice went a tad higher than before it made Jihoon uncomfortable with him.  
  
     “W-What do you mean by that?” asked Jihoon, baffled.  
  
     “Look. I totally feel you, Jihoon. Because my neighbor also isn't helping me at all. He was like the wind, you know? I certainly knew his existence but I have never seen him before. Not even once. Like, did he ever get out of his place? Is he really lived in there? Is he still alive? Has he moved out already? I never know that.”  
  
     Seungcheol's rambling about his neighbor was exactly what Jihoon felt about his neighbor. Before long, Jihoon decided that this guy could be his friend afterward. Although he found it weird to befriend someone who had the same kind of neighbor lived next door to them and he just met him like a few minute ago.  
  
     “So, how about your neighbor? Is he alright?”  
  
     “Nope. He's completely like how you described your neighbor just now.” Jihoon beamed approvingly at the other which earned him a wide smile from Seungcheol.  
  
     “Oh, man. We definitely are gonna click well, Jihoon.” Well, seemed like Seungcheol thought of the same thing as the shorter male. The latter high-five with Jihoon and Jihoon, being as cool as a cucumber, spontaneously accepted the high-five and grinned. Even though it was kind of strange, Jihoon absolutely was going to befriend with this Seungcheol guy.  
  
     “Yeah, I hope so,” Jihoon replied, animatedly.  
  
     A few minutes later, they began to have an in-depth conversation about their distant and aloof neighbors and how ill-mannered they were to not even bother to, at least, knock their knuckles on the door. However, Seungcheol put the blame on him as well for rarely stayed at home due to his job as an editor for a magazine.  
  
     “You're an editor?” Jihoon asked, voice filled with curiosity and eagerness.  
  
     “Yup.”  
  
     Upon hearing Seungcheol, Jihoon was intrigued with the idea of the latter actually being an editor that he asked with curiosity, “Are you an English major?”  
  
     To which Seungcheol replied with certainty, “Yes. Why?”  
  
     Jihoon was about to form the broadest smile ever when he realized the dazed look on Seungcheol's face. “N-Nothing. But hey, I'm currently writing a story, so, if it's not a burden for you...would you mind to read it and perhaps, tell me your thought about it? You know, I need feedbacks from someone...like you.”  
  
     “You want me to be your critique partner, like that?”  
  
     “Yes. A critique partner. Since you're an editor.” Jihoon then pursed his lips nervously as he waited for the latter's response to his request.  
  
     Seungcheol fell silent for a brief moment with a pensive look on his face. But it was not long before his eyes softened and a smile formed on his lips. “Sure! I'm free every Sunday. Well, not totally free but I can make time for you and your story. Just give me a call. By the way, are you thinking of publishing it?”  
  
     “Thank you so much, Seungcheol. About publishing it...not really. Because I'm just writing short stories at the moment and I have to keep on practicing before I'm confident enough to write a novel.” And after that, Jihoon beamed.  
  
     Seungcheol merely nodded at his words. “I see,” he said. “But if one of your short stories manage to capture my eyes and heart, I can help you publish it in my magazine. It's a literary magazine after all.”  
  
     Jihoon's eyes widened at the reply. “S-Seriously?”  
  
     “I can talk to my publisher about that.”  
  
     “Thank you very much! I don't know what to say to this seriously. But thank you again, Seungcheol.” Jihoon bowed his head continually at Seungcheol with gratefulness for he met someone like this latter.  
  
     Upon seeing Jihoon, Seungcheol merely laughed.  
  
     However, after a while, Jihoon's smile began to fade. Only to be replaced with a concerned look on his face. “But...I haven't been productive during these past days. You know, writer's block.”  
  
     Seungcheol hummed briefly in response before he replied, “Well, I think you've done the right thing to fight with your writer's block, Jihoon.”  
  
     “Huh?” Jihoon shot him a bemused look, totally clueless about what Seungcheol had told him just now.  
  
     “You know what, one way to fight with writer's block is to take a break and have a stroll outside. Breathing in the fresh, invigorating air and meeting new people, just like what you are doing right now. Listening to your favorite songs is another option you can take to deal with your writer's block and trust me, it works.”  
  
     His reply got Jihoon entirely speechless for a few minutes since he tried to process every word the editor had spewed out at him.  
  
     “But if none of them works for you...just write down anything to make sure that you are writing at least. Because you know, ideas can come at any time, in any way. And after all, first draft is always a shit, right?” Seungcheol arched his brows at Jihoon while beaming a smile at the shorter.  
  
     And it made Jihoon smiled as well. “Yes. You're right.”  
  
     Before long, Lee Seokmin came with his usual bright smile decked on his face and a tray in his hands. He approached the two guys and carefully placed down the ordered foods and drinks upon the table. “Sorry for the long wait. I hope you will enjoy the meal,” said Lee Seokmin cheerfully it brought a smile on Jihoon's fair complexion.  
  
     “Thank you, Seokmin,” Jihoon said amiably.  
  
     “You are welcome, sir.” And with that, Lee Seokmin walked away after he bowed at both of them and smiled. A few second later, the waiter had disappeared into the kitchen along with his colleagues.  
  
     Seungcheol shot Jihoon a look and asked curiously, “Did you know him?”  
  
     “Who? The waiter?”  
  
     The latter nodded in an instant.  
  
     Jihoon smiled. “Nope. I just met him today.”  
  
     “Then how did you know―”  
  
     “Name tag, Seungcheol.” Jihoon quickly cut him off with a quick answer.  
  
     Upon hearing Jihoon, Seungcheol grinned in embarrassment and rubbed the nape of his neck. “Y-Yeah. His name tag. I forgot about that.”  
  
     Before long, Jihoon spotted Seungcheol taking a sip of his juice and grabbed a silver spoon. Somehow, Jihoon was dejected as they had to temporarily stop their conversation to eat their meal. Because Jihoon found himself attracted toward the latter who seated before him and he just realized that a while ago.  
  
     “You okay?” Seungcheol lifted his eyebrow at Jihoon when he noticed the shorter had not eaten his meal yet. He retrieved his juice glass and drank some before he shot Jihoon another concerned look.  
  
     “Oh. I'm fine.” Hastily, Jihoon grabbed the spoon and the fork and began to eat his meal. After that, Jihoon did not even spare a glance at Seungcheol for fear of having his mind bombarded with wondering thoughts again. It was inevitable, though, that whenever Jihoon set his eyes on the latter, his mind would begin to wonder almost about everything. Because of the attraction he felt toward Seungcheol was considered weird and it was still too early to even be called as 'crush.'  
  
     Apart from that, Jihoon did enjoy his evening with someone who started off as a total stranger but turned out to be his friend when they both experienced the same bad thing about their neighbors' behavior. Talking to Seungcheol made Jihoon felt like he was talking to his old friend which appeared weird to Jihoon since he had never met the latter before. After all, Jihoon thanked his distant and aloof neighbor for everything that had happened to him today.  
  
  
Done paying for the meals they had earlier, Jihoon and Seungcheol walked out of the restaurant together and stood stock-still in front of the building. They looked full into each other's face before Seungcheol flashed a smile and pulled Jihoon back to the reality. Seungcheol withdrew something from his wallet that looked like a business card and Jihoon was elated with the idea of he getting his number without having to ask for it.  
  
     Seungcheol handed the card over to Jihoon and said, “Here's my number. And that's the publishing house where I work at. You can call me anytime and feel free to come to my office as well if I don't have any meeting.”  
  
     “Thank you. Well, I work at the cafe over there and feel free to come by lunch. I have day shift,” Jihoon said and pointed his index finger in a particular direction. The cafe where Jihoon worked at was closed today since it was Sunday but was always opened from Monday to Saturday.  
  
     Seungcheol turned on his heels to look at the said cafe and gave Jihoon a look afterward. “You work there? As a barista?”  
  
     “Not a barista. Just a waiter like that Seokmin guy.”  
  
     “I see. Well, a cafe is a good place for you to write. You know, the atmosphere there is calming with little distraction and the smell of the freshly brewed coffee...I think I'm going overboard, didn't I?”  
  
     Seeing the latter talking animatedly about writing in a cafe rendered Jihoon to feel excited to work there and met him tomorrow by lunch time (if he ever came there). “No, you're not. I was just thinking that as well.”  
  
     Upon hearing Jihoon's reply, Seungcheol was delighted. He nudged the shorter and said, “Great minds think alike, huh?”  
  
     “Sounds like it is,” Jihoon replied with a shrug. After a short pause, he opened his mouth to say, “Anyway, looks like we have to say goodbye now, don't we?”  
  
     “Yeah. But tell you what, I'm going that way as well.” Seungcheol jutted his chin toward the street where Jihoon was facing at.  
  
     Jihoon arched his brows in a little surprise. Not surprise, but more to excitement since he could walk together with Seungcheol before they officially parted later. “If you said so, let's go.”  
  
     And with that, Seungcheol and Jihoon walked down the street side by side with a conversation going on and a shared laughter which filled the air. For a temporary moment, Jihoon forgot about his plan on stopping by the convenience store to buy some packets of ramen until Seungcheol told him that he wanted to purchase something there.  
  
     “Oh. I want to buy something too,” Jihoon replied, excited. “Let's get inside together.”  
  
     Seungcheol merely gave him a smile and before long, they entered the convenience store together. Jihoon craned his neck, looking for the desired ramen. Unfortunately, it was placed on top of the shelf and all of the spicy ones were placed within his reach. Jihoon sighed in annoyance as he stood on his toes, one hand was up in the air as he tried to grab the packet.  
  
     Upon hearing a mild grunt from the other side, Seungcheol decided to check Jihoon out and clamped his mouth to hold in his laughter. How cute, he thought as he approached the shorter male and grabbed the packet he was trying to reach with his free hand. A second later, Seungcheol handed the packet of ramen over to Jihoon who looked astonished at his action.  
  
     “You want this, right?” Seungcheol questioned, making sure that he did not grab the wrong one.  
  
     Jihoon instantly nodded and answered, “Yes. Thank you.”  
  
     “You are welcome.” The latter then beamed. “Anyway, why don't you have these ones instead?” He mentioned the spicy ramen packets which lined up neatly just at Jihoon's height.  
  
     Jihoon ran his eyes over the spicy ones and grimaced. “I'm not fond of spicy foods,” he said before averting his black orbs on the taller male.  
  
     Seungcheol merely raised his eyebrows as he learned another new thing about Jihoon. He personally thought it was cute but did not say it out loud for fear of Jihoon thinking that he was weird or something else. So, he said this instead. “That's kinda interesting. You know, most of our foods are spicy. I wonder how did you survive eating them.”  
  
     Jihoon just grinned at his words as he walked away from the instant noodles section with Seungcheol trailing beside him. “My mom knows me very well, Seungcheol. But yeah, it's kinda hard whenever I eat at the restaurants. My friend even made fun of me saying I looked like a puppy when I asked for water.”  
  
     “Puppy's cute anyway,” Seungcheol said and placed his items upon the counter to which a man dressed in his work uniform began to scan the barcodes.  
  
     “Puppy surely is cute. But I am different with a puppy.” Jihoon placed his ramen on the counter a second later before he stole a glance at the cashier in front of him whose name tag read, “Jeon Wonwoo.”  
  
     And to Jihoon flinched slightly when Jeon Wonwoo shot him a bored look and asked with less enthusiasm, “Is this yours?” He pointed his finger at the ramen and after receiving a nod from Jihoon, Jeon Wonwoo began to take it and scanned the barcode on the plastic. He seemed grumpy and unfriendly and Jihoon wondered if he was having his bad day today.  
  
     After stuffing the items into a blue plastic bag, Jeon Wonwoo handed it over to Seungcheol whose hand was already holding the money. There was no conversation happened at all between the two and it totally contradicted with what happened back then at the restaurant. The cashier there whose name was Kim Mingyu (that was what his name tag read) was amiable and always wore his smile even when he talked to the customer.  
  
     By the time Jihoon paid for his ramen, Jeon Wonwoo let out an audible sigh. Seungcheol had already strode toward the exit, leaving Jihoon behind with his plastic bag. But not wanting to appear as rude, Seungcheol waited for him outside quietly.  
  
     “I hope you have a nice day,” Jihoon wished the aloof cashier and beamed a smile before he walked out of the shop.  
  
     Jeon Wonwoo, however, merely looked on in silence as the shorter male disappeared from his sight and urged a broken smile on his face afterward.  
  
     Before long, the two guys proceeded with their walk and it made Jihoon wondered about something. Not wanting the question to bug his mind any longer, Jihoon opened his mouth to ask it to Seungcheol. “Actually, where did you live?”  
  
     Seungcheol shot Jihoon a look and said, “I live at an apartment complex. You know, the one nearby the saloon. What's the matter?”  
  
     Jihoon stopped in an instant and stared deep into Seungcheol's black orbs. He was amused at the fact that the latter actually lived at the same apartment complex as him and Jihoon began to feel thrilled as he wildly guessed what the future had in store for him after this. Soon, Jihoon reciprocated the look and told him in his uncommon animated manner, “Well, I live there as well! What a coincidence.”  
  
     “You live there too? That's great. We should hang out together sometimes.” Seungcheol nudged the other in joy and continued their walk to the said apartment complex.  
  
     “I would love to,” Jihoon agreed. Well, it totally was a good idea. A very good idea indeed. And before Jihoon knew it, something filled up his used-to-be empty heart. Something bright, lovely, and colorful. Maybe, that was a good sign for, perhaps, another new beginning of his life. Every step Jihoon took felt light and because Seungcheol was beside him right now, everything seemed to have its own color back. Although in fact, Jihoon was not a color-blind at all.  
  
     They climbed the stairs and once again, talked about their neighbors. The heated conversation went on until Jihoon arrived at the second floor with Seungcheol who apparently was still beside him. Jihoon thought that Seungcheol just wanted to accompany him until he reached his apartment. However, Seungcheol's face contorted and his brows furrowed as they both stopped in front of Jihoon's door.  
  
     Unaware of what was going on, Jihoon merely shot the latter a baffled look and took out the key from inside his pocket. “Seungcheol?”  
  
     “You live here?” was what Seungcheol said in response.  
  
     “Yes. This is my apartment.” Jihoon nodded as he told him that. “What's wrong?”  
  
     “Well, Jihoon...honestly speaking, I live there. Right next to your apartment, to be more specific.” And with that, Seungcheol strode toward the apartment next to the other man's. And it was Jihoon's turn to frown his face.  
  
     For a couple of minutes, they exchanged a look of disbelief with each other and froze on their spot. It felt like the silence was standing between them at the very moment because Jihoon swore he saw it. Yet, the silence he used to live with these past few days did not seem happy, though.  
  
     After a long pause, Seungcheol pushed aside the silence with his question. “So, we've been condemning each other all along?”  
  
     To which Jihoon replied with another question, “And we've been hating on each other all along too?”  
  
     And with that, they cracked up as they found it ridiculous and funny. Later on, the laughter that rang through the thin air chased the silence away until it disappeared from Jihoon's sight. His eyes began to form two tiny crescent moons which lit up his fair complexion and a very wide grin decked on Seungcheol's face as they shared the hearty laugh together.  
  
     A few minutes later, their laughter began to fade only to be replaced with Seungcheol's apology.  
  
     “Look. I'm so sorry for saying bad things about you, Jihoon,” the latter blurted after taking a deep breath to get rid of the laughter. Anyway, his wide smile was still on his face as he said it.  
  
     On the other hand, Jihoon heaved a breath, his grin would not leave his face either. “I'm sorry too for complaining about you, Seungcheol.”  
  
     “So, is everything good now? Since we're apparently the distant and aloof neighbor for goodness's sake.” Seungcheol began to unlock the door to his apartment later on. His eyes, however, still was glued on Jihoon's figure as he opened it ajar.  
  
     Jihoon unlocked the door as well and opened it wide before he looked full into Seungcheol's face, arched his brows, and replied, “ I suppose so.”  
  
     They smiled at each other, exchanged a “See you again” wish, and before long, Jihoon walked into his apartment only to realize that the silence had left. That it was no longer lurking around like it used to do every single day. That it had gone for, maybe, just maybe, a very long time. Jihoon could not say that it had gone forever, though, because it would always be there, somewhere Jihoon could not see with his eyes nor heart. But after all, it was good enough for Jihoon to acknowledge the leave.  
  
     When he came to think of it, little did Jihoon know, the reason as to why the silence seemed unhappy earlier.


End file.
